I am AMAZED at what I read. This game looks GOOD! It seems to be to be a blending of all of the good editions of D&D. In my opinion, the "good" editions are AD&D/2E and D&D 3E/3.5. From what I read in that basic document, the game is easily recognizable as a D&D 3E or 3.X game, but they've toned down the math, made some areas more vague (in a good way) and are promoting roleplaying again.

For all the excellent aspects of 3E, one of the things it did to hurt the game, in my opinion, was to make a dice throw for everything. This encouraged players to just throw on a skill to find a trap, for example, instead of roleplaying out the encounter by using their 10' poles to prod for triggers while searching for scratches on the stone. In my estimation, all that rolling could suck the life out of a game and turn it into a die rolling fest instead of a roleplaying game. I had to adjust to this when I started playing my Conan campaign--a game that is based on d20 3.5 E.

D&D 5 seems to want to bring that roleplaying back into the game while still keeping all of the other excellent features that were pioneered with D&D 3.

I want to see more, but from what I see in this basic document, D&D 5 is something that I am going to like.

Click on the link above and decide for yourself.

And, what's the BEST news? D&D 5E looks to be fairly compatible with the Conan RPG, which means that it will probably be pretty easy to mine material from D&D 5E for your Conan game.

Here Are The Notes I Took While Reading the Basic Core Rules For The First Time:

-- The advantage/disadvantage concept is new and neat. You make two d20 rolls when you are attempting a task. If you are advantaged, then you take the higher of the two throws. If you are disadvantaged, then you take the lower roll.

Example: You are sneaking around but wearing armor that is heavy, not flexible, and noisy. You are at a disadvantage when wearing this armor while trying to sneak. You roll twice in order to sneak, taking the lower of the two throws as your sneak throw because you are at a disadvantage.

That's pretty neat.

-- Interesting the ability scores are generated in Step 3 of the character creation process and not in Step 1. Character concept comes first, followed by the stat generation.

-- Humans now get racial bonuses to attributes! That's different.

-- You don't have to roll up a character. You can just use the standard attribute array for quick generation. This was taken from 3rd edition--the DM's quick generation for NPCs. Now, PCs can use it.

-- Wow. They've made it a heck of a lot easier to gain levels at the lower levels. In D&D 3, it took 1000 XP to reach 2nd level. In this game, it only takes 300 XP. I suppose that's an effort to keep characters alive at the lower levels.

-- Character levels are now grouped into tiers, which gives a definition on what the levels mean. I like that.

-- The info on character races in this basic book is more than what I've seen in advanced books for other editions of the game. This is great for roleplaying, for both the DM and the player. Good stuff.

-- The "base" game universe for D&D 5 has gone back to the Forgotten Realms. I'm glad to see that. The Realms was always one of my favorite D&D gaming worlds.

-- Humans have subraces! Based on their nationalities from the Realms. I dig it!

-- There's a note to playing characters as gay or transsexual. Well, aren't we Politically Correct and cognizant of the times.

-- Character background system is presented, with character personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws.

-- I like this: Some heavy armor has a STR requirement. If you can't meet that requirement and wear the armor, your base movement speed is decreased by 10'. Thus, if you're not strong enough to wear the armor, you move a bit slower than those who are strong enough to wear it.

-- Lifestyle Expenses: I love this. PCs pay for all that stuff that happens "off camera".

-- Passive Checks: They're making official what d20 3 and 3.5 users have been doing for a long time. A Passive Check is Taking 10 on a throw (like Pereption) without the usual requirements that are needed for Taking 10 (can't be in combat, etc).

-- Not crazy about the group check rule. I think they could come up with something easier--something based on a single roll for the entire group.

-- Excellent description of how the six attributes are used in the game.

-- Saving Throws are now tied directly to the character's attributes. A DEX save. A CHR save. And so on.

-- The combat round is still 6 seconds long.

-- I like what they did with resting and regaining hit points.

-- Initiative is rolled for every combatant. I never did like rolling initiative for a "side", and I've always used individual initiative in my games.

-- Actions, Bonus Actions, and Reactions. This is all nicely done.

-- RANGES! They finally figured out something easier than having to count squares all the time. There are only two ranges for distance weapons, long and short. If at short range, you attack normally. If at long range, you are at a disadvantage and must roll twice for your attack, taking the lower result of the two. THAT'S AWESOME! And easy to play and remember.

-- Skill points have been generically melted down into a class proficiency bonus. While this is easier than keeping up with skill points, I think it makes the characters more generic. Not sure how I feel about this change--and it is a major change.

After looking through the document, I can (probably) say that 5e may become my new system of choice. I don't like everything about it (I do not like spell slots, though the changes of how spellcasting works for 5e does help a lot with that), but I love how simple it seems to play.

And, if you look at some of the excerpts available on the website, monsters now do average damage instead of rolling. That cuts the number of die roll needed in a round by half. That only in a great change.

Jeraa wrote:And, if you look at some of the excerpts available on the website, monsters now do average damage instead of rolling. That cuts the number of die roll needed in a round by half. That only in a great change.

Just FYI, that was a variant rule for D&D 3E/3.5E (and therefore could be used with the Conan RPG, too).

There's a couple of neat variants out there, like the one where the player rolls all the dice--or the reverse, where the GM rolls all the dice, and the player just roleplays off GM description.

Yes, the Conan system featured a number of good rule changes to reflect the S&S genre style, but it ran an a rather messy system: the 3.5/d20 system. The new 5e/Next system has turned a lot of heads -- including the old-school community -- with its simple rules and greater focus on role-playing. Although, it is hard to say if the final game is as good as the free sample rules advertise, or if the yet-to-be-released licensing would be at all beneficial to third-party producers. But since way are stewing in the pre-game hype, we might as well indulge our own pip-dream fantasies.

So here is the question: If one is to create a Conan-like game based on the 5e rules, what rules would be used and made to make it all work?

The simplest answer would be to take the 5e rules, drop what does not work for a S&S setting, then add to it what works in the Conan game, and add whatever is needed to make it all work together.

One thing I would change form the Conan game is to use the Savant house rules, that makes New Sorcery Style a level-dependent ability as usual, but you can freely learn advanced spells, without limits.

As much as I like the the Dodge and Parry AC rules, the DR for armor and armor penalties makes rolling for damage somewhat slow and cumbersome. Dodge and Parry are simple enough: classes can apply a proficiency bonus to one, both or nether.

I never liked Combat Maneuvers. There are some neat fighting moves, but I like combat to be more free-formed, and unencumbered by a list of circumstance-based maneuvers. If anything, they should be suggestions on how to spice up combat, without noting much rule wise.

Do we need role-playing elements and superfluous actions as part of class abilities, like Heroic Sacrifice for the Borderer, or Sword Bite for the Barbarian and Pirate? Like combat maneuvers, they should be role-playing suggestions.

Backgrounds would be a huge benefit with Scholars, who already have a wide range of background options in the Conan book -- in this case, they would have the added skills, items, etc. to to go along with it.

I'm not a fan of Personal Characteristics (Ideals, Bonds, Flaws, etc.), or at least I'm not a fan of the weird bubbly examples they added to the game. I don't mind character hooks, but like Alignment, they should be optional, and not feel like a straitjacket to the players.

Mind you, these are my own thoughts about it. How would you handle a project like this?

IMO, the Combat Maneuvers are what makes the game. No other game (that I have seen) has combat maneuvers quite like the ones in Conan. I really don't like the generic, one-size-fits-all moves in Pathfinder.

The Conan game greatly benefits from the Combat Maneuvers, making sword combat so exciting. You can specialize in different forms of combat. A quick user of a hooked bill will fight a lot differently than a Vanir in a heavy suit of chain or a Zamorian dressed only in silk, using two daggers.

Combatants try to mind-screw each other with moves like the Demoralize Other (albeit I did house rule that one a bit to make it have just a touch more bite), then move into swinging for Finessse or heavy blows, and maybe ending up with one jumping on the other trying to tackle him to the ground.

IMO, the Combat Maneuvers are what makes the game. No other game (that I have seen) has combat maneuvers quite like the ones in Conan. I really don't like the generic, one-size-fits-all moves in Pathfinder.

The Conan game greatly benefits from the Combat Maneuvers, making sword combat so exciting. You can specialize in different forms of combat. A quick user of a hooked bill will fight a lot differently than a Vanir in a heavy suit of chain or a Zamorian dressed only in silk, using two daggers.

Combatants try to mind-screw each other with moves like the Demoralize Other (albeit I did house rule that one a bit to make it have just a touch more bite), then move into swinging for Finessse or heavy blows, and maybe ending up with one jumping on the other trying to tackle him to the ground.

Our combat are extremely fun--mainly because of the maneuvers.

Don't get me wrong, I like combat maneuvers or any other actions that goes beyond just swinging/thrusting weapons at each other. I just hate combat maneuvers form a mechanical stand point.

For example, two spearmen charge a man from opposite sides, the guy in the middle avoids both attacks and both spearmen stab each other by mistake — this is covered in the Conan rulebook. I like actions like that. I just don't need a large paragraph or two of rules with some mechanical prerequisites to tell me how it should go down. If it notes such an action as an example of special stuns, with some simple notes on how that could be done in a fast and freewheeling way, then I have no issue with it.

But that is me. In general, I find RPG combat to be the boring part of most games. I find the highly tactical nature of v3.5 — even with the Conan rules — to be a huge bog-down in game play. There are too many things to consider, and referencing things get tedious. If I want to "grind", I would play some dull-as-&%$# World of Warcraft. When combat does happen — for any game — I would encourage the players to do unusual actions with small EXP bonuses, have the enemies do crazy/foolish things, and I would throw things at the characters (mostly funny or distracting elements) to make the fights more memorable. And I handle the mechanics on the fly.

For example, two spearmen charge a man from opposite sides, the guy in the middle avoids both attacks and both spearmen stab each other by mistake — this is covered in the Conan rulebook. I like actions like that. I just don't need a large paragraph or two of rules with some mechanical prerequisites to tell me how it should go down. If it notes such an action as an example of special stuns, with some simple notes on how that could be done in a fast and freewheeling way, then I have no issue with it.[/quote]

I see what you are saying, but I like the prerequisites and rules. Because the game, mechanically, doesn't let players initiate every sort of move--their character isn't trained.

Two things about this, though:

1. I still play "freeform" as you say. I could have a situation where two spearmen charge a man from opposite sides, where the two spearmen do not qualify for the maneuver), and yet I describe it happening (just as if the rules were not there).

I don't let the rules tell me that what I want to happen doesn't happen.

I look at it like this: The rules are there when players want to initiate the maneuver. If it happens when I describe it as color, then it happens.

I tend to default to the rules most of the time, but if I want to describe something cool, then I do. It happens. We move on.

2. I look at the combat maneuvers as free feats that a character can gain just by meeting the prerequisites.

But that is me. In general, I find RPG combat to be the boring part of most games. I find the highly tactical nature of v3.5 — even with the Conan rules — to be a huge bog-down in game play. There are too many things to consider, and referencing things get tedious.

This is where we greatly differ. I think all the options, once you learn them, really add to the fight.

In a standard D&D game, you've got magic to spice up a fight. Throw a web spell, and all of a sudden, the entire battlefield is different than it once was. Bonuses from Bless and Protection From Evil are in place. Things like that.

And, there are lots of critters to fight in a D&D game that are absent from a Conan game: Trolls, Goblins, Orcs, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Ogres, and the like.

Most of the combats in Conan are against other humans. So, I think the game designers did a very smart thing. In order to keep combat lively, they invented all the combat maneuvers that will take the combat in wildly different directions--without using fantasy creatures or constant magic.

I'm a big fan of the combat maneuvers. I think they "make" the Conan game.

And, I don't find Conan combat to be a grind at all. In fact, I look forward to the combats because they are so fun.

I am AMAZED at what I read. This game looks GOOD! It seems to be to be a blending of all of the good editions of D&D. In my opinion, the "good" editions are AD&D/2E and D&D 3E/3.5. From what I read in that basic document, the game is easily recognizable as a D&D 3E or 3.X game, but they've toned down the math, made some areas more vague (in a good way) and are promoting roleplaying again.

For all the excellent aspects of 3E, one of the things it did to hurt the game, in my opinion, was to make a dice throw for everything. This encouraged players to just throw on a skill to find a trap, for example, instead of roleplaying out the encounter by using their 10' poles to prod for triggers while searching for scratches on the stone. In my estimation, all that rolling could suck the life out of a game and turn it into a die rolling fest instead of a roleplaying game. I had to adjust to this when I started playing my Conan campaign--a game that is based on d20 3.5 E.

D&D 5 seems to want to bring that roleplaying back into the game while still keeping all of the other excellent features that were pioneered with D&D 3.

I want to see more, but from what I see in this basic document, D&D 5 is something that I am going to like.

Click on the link above and decide for yourself.

And, what's the BEST news? D&D 5E looks to be fairly compatible with the Conan RPG, which means that it will probably be pretty easy to mine material from D&D 5E for your Conan game.

Here Are The Notes I Took While Reading the Basic Core Rules For The First Time:

-- The advantage/disadvantage concept is new and neat. You make two d20 rolls when you are attempting a task. If you are advantaged, then you take the higher of the two throws. If you are disadvantaged, then you take the lower roll.

Example: You are sneaking around but wearing armor that is heavy, not flexible, and noisy. You are at a disadvantage when wearing this armor while trying to sneak. You roll twice in order to sneak, taking the lower of the two throws as your sneak throw because you are at a disadvantage.

That's pretty neat.

-- Interesting the ability scores are generated in Step 3 of the character creation process and not in Step 1. Character concept comes first, followed by the stat generation.

-- Humans now get racial bonuses to attributes! That's different.

-- You don't have to roll up a character. You can just use the standard attribute array for quick generation. This was taken from 3rd edition--the DM's quick generation for NPCs. Now, PCs can use it.

-- Wow. They've made it a heck of a lot easier to gain levels at the lower levels. In D&D 3, it took 1000 XP to reach 2nd level. In this game, it only takes 300 XP. I suppose that's an effort to keep characters alive at the lower levels.

-- Character levels are now grouped into tiers, which gives a definition on what the levels mean. I like that.

-- The info on character races in this basic book is more than what I've seen in advanced books for other editions of the game. This is great for roleplaying, for both the DM and the player. Good stuff.

-- The "base" game universe for D&D 5 has gone back to the Forgotten Realms. I'm glad to see that. The Realms was always one of my favorite D&D gaming worlds.

-- Humans have subraces! Based on their nationalities from the Realms. I dig it!

-- There's a note to playing characters as gay or transsexual. Well, aren't we Politically Correct and cognizant of the times.

-- Character background system is presented, with character personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws.

-- I like this: Some heavy armor has a STR requirement. If you can't meet that requirement and wear the armor, your base movement speed is decreased by 10'. Thus, if you're not strong enough to wear the armor, you move a bit slower than those who are strong enough to wear it.

-- Lifestyle Expenses: I love this. PCs pay for all that stuff that happens "off camera".

-- Passive Checks: They're making official what d20 3 and 3.5 users have been doing for a long time. A Passive Check is Taking 10 on a throw (like Pereption) without the usual requirements that are needed for Taking 10 (can't be in combat, etc).

-- Not crazy about the group check rule. I think they could come up with something easier--something based on a single roll for the entire group.

-- Excellent description of how the six attributes are used in the game.

-- Saving Throws are now tied directly to the character's attributes. A DEX save. A CHR save. And so on.

-- The combat round is still 6 seconds long.

-- I like what they did with resting and regaining hit points.

-- Initiative is rolled for every combatant. I never did like rolling initiative for a "side", and I've always used individual initiative in my games.

-- Actions, Bonus Actions, and Reactions. This is all nicely done.

-- RANGES! They finally figured out something easier than having to count squares all the time. There are only two ranges for distance weapons, long and short. If at short range, you attack normally. If at long range, you are at a disadvantage and must roll twice for your attack, taking the lower result of the two. THAT'S AWESOME! And easy to play and remember.

-- Skill points have been generically melted down into a class proficiency bonus. While this is easier than keeping up with skill points, I think it makes the characters more generic. Not sure how I feel about this change--and it is a major change.

I am AMAZED at what I read. This game looks GOOD! It seems to be to be a blending of all of the good editions of D&D. In my opinion, the "good" editions are AD&D/2E and D&D 3E/3.5. From what I read in that basic document, the game is easily recognizable as a D&D 3E or 3.X game, but they've toned down the math, made some areas more vague (in a good way) and are promoting roleplaying again.

For all the excellent aspects of 3E, one of the things it did to hurt the game, in my opinion, was to make a dice throw for everything. This encouraged players to just throw on a skill to find a trap, for example, instead of roleplaying out the encounter by using their 10' poles to prod for triggers while searching for scratches on the stone. In my estimation, all that rolling could suck the life out of a game and turn it into a die rolling fest instead of a roleplaying game. I had to adjust to this when I started playing my Conan campaign--a game that is based on d20 3.5 E.

D&D 5 seems to want to bring that roleplaying back into the game while still keeping all of the other excellent features that were pioneered with D&D 3.

I want to see more, but from what I see in this basic document, D&D 5 is something that I am going to like.

Click on the link above and decide for yourself.

And, what's the BEST news? D&D 5E looks to be fairly compatible with the Conan RPG, which means that it will probably be pretty easy to mine material from D&D 5E for your Conan game.

Here Are The Notes I Took While Reading the Basic Core Rules For The First Time:

-- The advantage/disadvantage concept is new and neat. You make two d20 rolls when you are attempting a task. If you are advantaged, then you take the higher of the two throws. If you are disadvantaged, then you take the lower roll.

Example: You are sneaking around but wearing armor that is heavy, not flexible, and noisy. You are at a disadvantage when wearing this armor while trying to sneak. You roll twice in order to sneak, taking the lower of the two throws as your sneak throw because you are at a disadvantage.

That's pretty neat.

-- Interesting the ability scores are generated in Step 3 of the character creation process and not in Step 1. Character concept comes first, followed by the stat generation.

-- Humans now get racial bonuses to attributes! That's different.

-- You don't have to roll up a character. You can just use the standard attribute array for quick generation. This was taken from 3rd edition--the DM's quick generation for NPCs. Now, PCs can use it.

-- Wow. They've made it a heck of a lot easier to gain levels at the lower levels. In D&D 3, it took 1000 XP to reach 2nd level. In this game, it only takes 300 XP. I suppose that's an effort to keep characters alive at the lower levels.

-- Character levels are now grouped into tiers, which gives a definition on what the levels mean. I like that.

-- The info on character races in this basic book is more than what I've seen in advanced books for other editions of the game. This is great for roleplaying, for both the DM and the player. Good stuff.

-- The "base" game universe for D&D 5 has gone back to the Forgotten Realms. I'm glad to see that. The Realms was always one of my favorite D&D gaming worlds.

-- Humans have subraces! Based on their nationalities from the Realms. I dig it!

-- There's a note to playing characters as gay or transsexual. Well, aren't we Politically Correct and cognizant of the times.

-- Character background system is presented, with character personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws.

-- I like this: Some heavy armor has a STR requirement. If you can't meet that requirement and wear the armor, your base movement speed is decreased by 10'. Thus, if you're not strong enough to wear the armor, you move a bit slower than those who are strong enough to wear it.

-- Lifestyle Expenses: I love this. PCs pay for all that stuff that happens "off camera".

-- Passive Checks: They're making official what d20 3 and 3.5 users have been doing for a long time. A Passive Check is Taking 10 on a throw (like Pereption) without the usual requirements that are needed for Taking 10 (can't be in combat, etc).

-- Not crazy about the group check rule. I think they could come up with something easier--something based on a single roll for the entire group.

-- Excellent description of how the six attributes are used in the game.

-- Saving Throws are now tied directly to the character's attributes. A DEX save. A CHR save. And so on.

-- The combat round is still 6 seconds long.

-- I like what they did with resting and regaining hit points.

-- Initiative is rolled for every combatant. I never did like rolling initiative for a "side", and I've always used individual initiative in my games.

-- Actions, Bonus Actions, and Reactions. This is all nicely done.

-- RANGES! They finally figured out something easier than having to count squares all the time. There are only two ranges for distance weapons, long and short. If at short range, you attack normally. If at long range, you are at a disadvantage and must roll twice for your attack, taking the lower result of the two. THAT'S AWESOME! And easy to play and remember.

-- Skill points have been generically melted down into a class proficiency bonus. While this is easier than keeping up with skill points, I think it makes the characters more generic. Not sure how I feel about this change--and it is a major change.

GarynVygax wrote:Have you tried playing a Hyborean Age game using D&D 5th rules?

No, I haven't. Why would I switch from Mongoose's awesome Conan RPG to something where I have to convert?

That makes no sense to me. The Mongoose game is out of this world. It fits the Hyborian Age like a glove. It's a fantastic Conan game.

Reading the into booklet, D&D 5E looks to be a great system, but I don't see any reason to change to it while I have the Conan RPG ready to run.

I agree with those things that you wrote pertaining to the quality of the Mongoose system, and that it fits the Hyborian Age like a glove. Believe me, given the choice between 3rd D&D and the CONAN RPG (I have 2nd Edition and multiple supplements), I'd always choose the latter!
However, I get tired of the high ACs, Attack Bonuses, and the like of d20, and I like the new D&D much more than I thought I would. I was suggesting a experiment to see if one could use the D&D 5th rules and focus on the ideas of Sword & Sorcery. To me, the most difficult aspect to deal with is that the Mongoose magic system is so well done. How will I introduce the use of human sacrifice to gain magical power? The is an example. I looked at http://xoth.net/blog/ and there are excellent ideas for converting Pathfinder into Sword & Sorcery, like cutting out some spells. I will not be using the rule of having Hit Dice for healing. Wounds heal slowly. The Monster list can be cut down, too. There are good ones in the Monster Manual.

GarynVygax wrote:Have you tried playing a Hyborean Age game using D&D 5th rules?

No, I haven't. Why would I switch from Mongoose's awesome Conan RPG to something where I have to convert?

That makes no sense to me. The Mongoose game is out of this world. It fits the Hyborian Age like a glove. It's a fantastic Conan game.

Reading the into booklet, D&D 5E looks to be a great system, but I don't see any reason to change to it while I have the Conan RPG ready to run.

I agree with what you said pertaining to the Mongoose system fitting the Hyborean Age like a glove. I have the 2nd edition and multiple supplements, and given the choice between D&D 3rd and the Mongoose system, Mongoose wins every time. However, I was merely suggesting trying it out to see if one could use the new system and maintain the Sword & Sorcery feel. http://xoth.net/blog/ has great ideas on converting Pathfinder to Sword & Sorcery, like limiting the spells available to Mages. I believe Mongoose's excellent Conan spell-casting rules are a problem spot in trying to squeeze out the Hyborean from D&D 5th. Yet I wonder; how many DMs actually make their players hunt spell components.
I do not like 3rd edition's high Attack Bonuses and ACs. Additionally, although the Damage Reduction rules seem more right, more real to me, it gets old to me after awhile.

As far as the high ACs and stuff...that's why I keep leveling to a snail's pace in my Conan game. It's meant to be played at the lower levels. If a Savage Pict or one of Belit's black pirates are 1st to 3rd level, then that, right there, should indicate how the Conan game should be played at the very low levels. Anybody at 10th level is a legend in this game.

As far as the high ACs and stuff...that's why I keep leveling to a snail's pace in my Conan game. It's meant to be played at the lower levels. If a Savage Pict or one of Belit's black pirates are 1st to 3rd level, then that, right there, should indicate how the Conan game should be played at the very low levels. Anybody at 10th level is a legend in this game.

Also...why are you posting twice?

The posting twice was an accident. It did not go through the first time I clicked.

I can see what you mean about the levels and keeping them low. That to me (slow advancement) would be a good way to go Sword & Sorcery with 5th. Also, doing away with the Hit Dice-healing bit.

GarynVygax wrote:I can see what you mean about the levels and keeping them low.

What I do is this: I pretty much always start the PCs at level 1, never higher. The first few levels is a deadly, deadly game, since one hit can take you out. But, hey, that's what Fate Points are for.

Character Growth is pretty simple. A character gets a number of XP equal to the foe's level x 100. I usually add the hit points of the foe to make it an odd number.

Thus, if a 10 hp 1st level Pict Savage is defeated by the PC, then that PC is awarded 110 XP. If a 2nd level Black Coast Corsair with 13 hit points is killed, then the PC that killed him is awarded 213 XP.

I do the same for monsters, but I may adjust a little bit for special abilities. Nothing specific here. I just go with my gut.

And, I award XP for achieving story goals...or maybe an exceptional piece of role playing.

So, in order for a character to raise from 1st to 2nd level, then that character about the equivalent experience of defeating 10 men in single combat. That may not sound too hard, but remember the characters are kept low level. The Massive Damage rule is only 20 points of damage to make a character save or die. In this gritty game, players will find ways to kill from a distance, use their brains (drop a falling boulder on a foe instead of rushing him with sword in hand), and stealth to avoid encounters altogether. Plus, it encourages roleplaying, as a player will try to talk his way out of danger rather than always resorting to his sword. And, the added benefit to this system (besides keeping the game world low level and gritty) is that players really begin to respect even the mid-level characters. The old, grizzled 3rd level sergeant-guardsman has killed at least 20 men, in one-on-one combat, in his life. He's a warrior to be reckoned with. And, that 5th level bandit lord truly is a mean son of a jackal.

If players are smart, and double-team enemies, then the XP is divided, making advancement even slower.

You have a good system worked out there, indeed. I am feeling out this 5th Edition rule-set. A few moments ago, I tried an encounter with some ghouls. I simply removed their undead immunities. I thought that it worked well. I want to experiment with the CONAN RPG combat maneuvers for 5th. I really like "Human Shield".
My characters are three:
1. A Stygian Sorceress (Wizard), 5th level, Named Nefrunaset
2. A Zamorian Thief/Sorcerer Acolyte, levels 3/1, Named Petruso
3. A Hyborean (Aquilonian) Fighter, 4th level, Named Tarquinius

You might think it silly, but simply gazing upon the map in the "Road of Kings" book and listing to the Conan movie soundtrack worked wonders on my imagination.

GarynVygax wrote:You might think it silly, but simply gazing upon the map in the "Road of Kings" book and listing to the Conan movie soundtrack worked wonders on my imagination.

Absolutely. I often send Hyborian Age pics to my players via e-mail in between games, just to keep their blood hot. And, we are blessed, we Conan lovers, as there is a ton of art out there for Conan, from fans to the Age of Conan MMO to all the decades of comics. Lots of great looking stuff to bring the visual sense of the Hyborian Age to life. Not counting the non-Hyborian Age specific stuff--the pics that just seem to "fit".

"This is the other ship, spotted over the port bow, at the end of the last game session....".

"The creature, coming towards you out of the swamp, looks like this....".

"There's something odd about the warrior that stands in your way...his eyes. They're solid white! No irises. No pupils."

My first campaign, I had four main players, and they were all of the same class--all Cimmerian Barbarians. I ran the game set in Cimmeria, telling the tales of some Cimmerian clansmen as they came of age.

It was quite fun, playing the game with that specific focus.

Now, in my second campaign, I'm setting it in Argos--in a very civilized area. I allowed different classes, but to my amazement, all my players (3 this time around) all decided on Thieves.

Unlike D&D, I like how, in Conan, a difference of class is not mandatory. Games work well whether the characters are all the same class or of different classes.